“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.” (CS Lewis)

 “Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us—that is a distraction. (AW Tozer)

Holy Spirit, think through me till Your ideas are my ideas. (Amy Carmichael)

Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your^[ life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Col. 3:1-4)

Please note: This is a companion reflection to chapter five in Intimacy and Eternity: Exploring Silence. You will find much practical guidance there for overcoming distractions and pressing on into the fullness of the Lord’s rich presence.

How many times does it happen when we set aside time to ‘mullinate,’ (a word I’ve coined to indicate praying and pondering in the Lord’s presence) that we find ourselves bombarded left, right and centre by all sorts of distracting thoughts? As surely as the Lord loves to slip precious thoughts and impressions into our heart and mind, are there not also times when steady streams of distractions threaten to side-track our seeking of the Lord, and to diminish our energy and our focus?

Since what goes on in the unseen places of our heart and mind truly is the place the Lord loves to dwell in, why be surprised that it is also the ‘mind field’ where the powers of darkness seek to distract and damage the motors of our heart? Whether these disturbances prove intense enough to feel all-consuming, or are simply frittering away our precious time by filling our minds with lesser things, may we be as prompt to identify this process happening, and to be as resolute in dealing with these things as we would be if we were needing to repel boarders from grappling their way onto our ship!

You know when our mind and body need time off, right away from the soul front,
and You are more than pleased to grant us such opportunities,
for focused meditation, like everything else, benefits from proper breaks.,
for we are truly body, soul and spirit, and are not designed to operate at 100 percent intensity all the time.

Thank You for the ways and times You afford to enable us to refresh and recharge:
help us to be swift to spot and benefit from them –
for that is when we find the gems that You have it in mind for us to discover.

Increase our ability to be still in Your presence, Lord whenever You are calling,
and bring us back to our senses and to pursuing You whenever we find our thoughts drifting.

Thank You that all that may be needed is a clear but quiet course correction. As St Francis de Sales encourages us, ‘If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master’s presence.’

Teresa of Avila said much the same thing when she compared her distractions to unruly wild horses, even as she was most seeking to still her heart and to meditate. Rather than giving in to discouragement at that point, she chose not to give her thoughts undue attention, but gently brought herself back to the Lord’s presence.

Just saying ‘thank You’ does so much to refocus our hearts, and to push away the distractions that we face.

Grant us the discernment to sense when we can safely pass by some distraction without concern,

but when some specific distraction requires greater resolution and more fervent prayer to overcome;

Lord in the midst of so much inner and outward noise,
I want to still my mind to pay attention to You, and to You only.

Thank You that even just a few such minutes can leave us feeling renewed and refreshed,
and more conscious of our hearts and minds being more fully united with Yours.
Even as I cherish places full of God-breathed silence,
I would seek to cultivate the gift of internal stillness.
You are the Eternal Power, the ultimate ruler of Heaven’s spheres,
and the One who holds the whole Universe in Your hands –
and You make it possible for each one who puts their trust in You to dwell with You,
and to walk with You in active partnership.

In Your name, Jesus, I shut out from my mind every distraction.
Deliver me from evil – and from every fiery dart
that the enemy of our souls stirs up and magnifies.

Let there be more room in my heart for You:
to make it a sanctuary of prayer and worship;
a reflection of Your love,
and a mirror that shines with Your compassion for people.

Forgive me the many times I allow my heart to burn or be preoccupied with that which is not of You – for every time I resist these things I give You that much more opportunity to let Your love triumph in me.

Come deep within and do the work You need to do.
so that I can pursue You afresh with vigour and joy –
and the calling that You have so loving wrought within me,

Let me not drift from the precious habit of talking to You at different times throughout the day.
It is Your will, Father, that we, who live in a busy and sinful world, should be temples of Your Holy Spirit.

You know all about the specific difficulties that we face,
and You long to renew and redeem our minds so that we can pray and respond to them in the power of the Spirit.

Keep me from sickness and slackness,
and from lingering over long in guilt when I fail to show Your love,
and to get the balance right.

In Your name, and by Your grace,
let me spend each coin of time that You give me well and wisely.

So long as we are prepared to continue the struggle against distractions, we are giving You all that You expect, and You value our prayer precisely because we are determined not to succumb to the distractions that daunt and dog our steps. The very fact that there are so many distractions may be an indication that what we are seeking to do and to pray may be upsetting the enemy greatly.

You thrust us out into a world full of distractions, Lord – and You do not want us to be afraid of these things, but rather to seek to redeem them by our prayer.

There is no guarantee that we will ever be completely free from difficulties and distractions right up to the end of our lives – but may our will becomes purer, and our desire stronger, so that their power to weaken and discourage us may be lessened. Little by little, as we bring all the details of our life into the Lord’s presence, all becomes one vast desire in our union with Him, as my great uncle Frank declared, that as we fix our heart, mind and will on Him. We are in the great ‘school’ of His Sacred Heart, and it is His delight to teach and lead us, so that prayer becomes all the Father intends it to be as He moves through us to fulfil His will and purposes.

May we not be downhearted about our distractions, therefore.

Where they are the result of past sin, thank You, Lord Jesus, that You forgive us as we bring them to Him – and when the devil taunts us with the reminder of them, may we be quick to remember that, and to remind him that You have forgiven all that we have confessed to You concerning our past.

Where distractions come as a discipline that You need us to bear,
enlarge our heart to do so with a willing spirit, Lord!
But where the cares of the world are pressing in hard,
give us grace to turn away from them,
and to trust that You will always find a way forward through and beyond them.

Help us to find ways to profit from these distractions, as Therese of Lisieux did when she declared,

‘I also have many distractions, but as soon as I am aware of them, I pray for those people the thought of whom is diverting my attention, and in this way, they reap benefit from my distractions.’

But where these things stem from the wiles of Satan,
empower us to show great resilience to resist and overcome them in Jesus’ name.

I suppose that it was all but inevitable that I should reach out my hand just now and knock a glass of water all over papers that would much prefer not to have been thus dunked! A similar such episode wiped out Ros’s work computer the other day. I can readily imagine there were swarms of Imps harassing Noah as he sought to finish his ark causing bruised thumbs as hammers flew and much worse besides. There is deadly intent as well as mere annoyance in these things. It is our willingness to persevere that gives prayer true meaning in His sight, and that enables us to overcome those things which are sent to impede and slow us down. The enemy fears and suffers from our resolve.

No matter how much we are hurting, may the Lord keep us from looking inwards, and convincing ourselves of our worthlessness. May we not focus our eyes too long either on outward circumstances, lest we find our faith faltering and our hearts daunted by the size of our challenges, and by the seeming hopelessness of certain situations. May we rather look up to His face, and remember the power that He has placed within us. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

It is fear and pride that hold us back from co-operating with His power – that dreary self-sufficiency which causes us to think that everything depends on our own wisdom and resources.

But loving God, and keeping the eyes of our heart open, opens us both to fresh insights and to new possibilities that that we would never otherwise have glimpsed.

Lord, because You have chosen us, and I have responded to Your call, I open my heart now to meditate on the secret power of Christ at work in me. Your power outweighs all weakness, pain and cowardice, and enables me to keep on walking. That is why You urge us to lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near.

Because we are doing our best to seek You about everything that comes across our path, prayer itself becomes a profound oneness with Jesus. Grant us the willingness to go whatever extra mile may be required in any situation, as well as to respond to those who have an obvious claim on our time and wherewithal.

Your leading and direction will be quite different from one person to the next, but may we ever find ourselves caring ever more passionately for others, as Your concerns become ever increasingly our own. For Your sake, may we experience an ever-deepening concern for the well-being of the Church, and for whatever other sphere and circle You lay on our heart.

Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash